


Nothing is Off-Limits

by mggislife2789



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Dyslexia, Other, Reader-Insert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-08
Updated: 2017-04-08
Packaged: 2018-10-16 12:44:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10571574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mggislife2789/pseuds/mggislife2789
Summary: Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters or their original stories. This is only for fun. It's where my brain goes after the credits roll. No copyright intended. Better safe than sorry. ;)





	

I am not dumb, you chanted to yourself as you headed into your first day on the job. I am not dumb. I am not dumb. I am not dumb. How could you be dumb and get this job? You couldn’t. So why were you still thinking it? Oh, that’s right, because even at this very moment, you had the voices of former teachers who’d labeled you as not trying hard enough, telling you that you’d never be good enough rolling around in your head.

After coming home from school at the age of 7 complaining of headaches when you were reading, your mother took you to the doctor and you’d been diagnosed with Dyslexia. Although you were very intelligent, you couldn’t write or read well. Comprehension only came when people read to you. Most teachers helped you after your diagnosis, testing you orally instead of on paper. When that happened, you passed with flying colors, but there were those few teachers that insisted that you just weren’t trying hard enough and in those classes, you’d struggled - the stress eating away at you from the inside out.

Once in high school, your self esteem plummeted to an all-time low. Not only did you have to deal with the normal high school teasing, but then you had to add getting called an idiot because your teachers had to read to you. The only reason you’d made it through high school was because of your math teacher, who went above and beyond when it came to helping you. You’d always imagined being a member of the FBI, but with dyslexia, you assumed that’d never happen. “Nothing is off-limits,” he’d said. And that notion stuck with you after you graduated. 

Now you were here, and despite making it into your dream job, those doubts still sat in the back of your mind. “Morning,” you said as you walked in, shaking hands with a man that introduced himself as Agent Anderson. “I’m Y/F/N Y/L/N.”

“You’re starting with the BAU today,” he said, ushering you to your desk and then onto Agent Hotchner’s office. Within 30 minutes, you’d been introduced to the rest of the team. You’d be working with Agents Aaron Hotchner, the team leader, David Rossi, whose books you’d had read to you for years, Emily Prentiss, Jennifer Jareau, Penelope Garcia, Derek Morgan and Spencer Reid. As they all went around the room and introduced themselves, you felt a mixture of emotions. 

Everyone was so nice. Penelope even wrapped you in a tight hug two seconds after introducing herself. On the other hand, everyone was ridiculously smart, especially Garcia and Spencer, who had IQs over 160. A case hadn’t been brought across the desk yet, so instead, the group of you stayed in the conference room talking. By the time you returned to your desk to make it your own a few hours later, you felt horrible - weighed down by the belief that you’d never live up to their intelligence and eventually get fired.

As the days went by, you found yourself going into work, doing your job, and coming home. You didn’t want to allow yourself to get close to them for fear of them seeing that you weren’t in the same league. “Okay, new girl,” Penelope said one day as she passed your desk. “What’s up? The day you started you seemed really eager and ready to go, and you’ve withdrawn over the past couple of weeks. Let mama Garcia help.”

“First off, you’re not old enough to be my mama. Big sister Garcia works for me,” you replied with a smile. “And I don’t want everyone to come to the realization that I don’t belong here.”

“What do you mean? Of course you belong here.”

She really was one of the sweetest people you’d ever met. “When I was 7 I was diagnosed with Dyslexia.”

“So?” 

“I’m not as smart as everyone here.” The tears began to sting your eyes, wondering how long it would be until Hotch realized that you couldn’t hang with the rest of the team and let you go. 

Penelope reached across the desk, grabbing your hand and squeezing it tight. “You’re smarter,” she replied, much to your surprise. “You made it into this job with Dyslexia. That’s not easy. And it’s amazing. I bet you had to work harder than most of us to get here.” You had worked hard, but you hated comparing your journey to anyone else’s. “If you need us to read you something, just ask. Especially Reid. Reid loves to read. Haha, Reid reads. See what I did there?”

“Really?”

“Really about the horrible joke I just made or about people reading to you. It’s yes to both. One, I went there and two, just ask. That’s all you need to do.”

When she left your desk that day, you felt a lot better and decided the next day that you’d be upfront with everyone and ask for help. Penelope was right, there was nothing wrong with it. You’d needed assistance all your life, but that didn’t diminish all that you’d accomplished. 

The next day, you held your head high as you walked in to greet everyone. “How’re you this morning?” JJ asked.

“Not bad,” you replied, taking a deep breath. “But I do have something I want to say.”

“What is it?” Morgan said from behind Spencer’s desk. “Something wrong?”

With a final deep breath, you told them all about growing up with your learning disability. About when you were diagnosed. You told them of the teachers that made you feel like shit, and of the one that made you believe in yourself. “I want to believe that I’m smart enough to hang with the rest of you and do this job well, but I just need you to know that if you hand me a piece of paper, I’m going to have an extremely difficult time reading it. I may need someone to read it to me.”

“That’s no problem,” Emily said without missing a beat. “It’s all about how you apply what you read. In our case, if we need to find something that was actually written on paper we default to Reid anyway because he can read 20,000 words a minute.”

“Holy shit, really?” you exclaimed without realizing you’d never cursed in front of the team before. “That’s unreal.”

“It’s insane,” Rossi replied. “But he’s the reader in the group. The rest of us apply facts and theories, and that’s what you’re here for. If you need our help, all you have to do is ask.”

As you wiped a tear from your eye, Spencer spoke up. “People with dyslexia think primarily with images and feelings, not sounds and words, so honestly, your point of view will bring a different aspect to what we do. And I’m used to reading to people all the time, so I have no problem reading to you if you need,” he said quickly.

“You might have to talk a little bit slower for me,” you laughed. “You talk a mile a minute.” He blushed, saying sorry as he insisted he could slow down if it helped you. 

“Thanks, everyone,” you said. The weight that was lifted off your shoulders was immense. “I just can’t believe I made it here.”

Penelope came up behind you and wrapped her arms around your neck. “I can,” she said. “You earned it.”


End file.
